Rollouts accompanying company's growth
Implementation support for SAP Logistics (logistics and production module) in 25 production plants.
Creating a consulting team to evaluate and adapt the implemented solution, optimize the logistics chain, accelerate internal ordering processes, and create a transparent product catalog. Carrying out implementations for all plants, taking into account their specific characteristics and different legacy systems.
As a company continues to grow, its branches scattered around the world grow with it. Although each one of them functions well on its own, only as a whole do they form a living organism. Just like blood, information needs to circulate and reach its every corner. This allows the brain, or the headquarters, to successfully control every movement.
01 Case study
Economies of scale
One of Hicron’s largest projects was implemented for a Client supplying components for the broadly understood mobility industry, which includes not only the automotive, but also the aerospace, marine, rail, and related industries. Apart from the headquarters, the manufacturer’s factories are located on 5 continents in 25 countries, employing approximately 38,000 people.
By 2018 the Client had implemented uniform SAP software based on HR and finance/accounting modules. The separation of production lines means that they can function as completely separate entities, so their previous integration was not necessary. Because of their diverse characteristics, each one also used different ERP systems. However, the growing number of suppliers and customers was associated with increasing complexity in the logistics chain. The need to accelerate internal order-related processes and create a transparent product catalog resulted in the decision to expand the current SAP system with additional production and logistics modules, including material management, warehousing, manufacturing, and sales.
One of the company’s most modern factories in the world, located in Poland, was selected for the first implementation. However, once the base template was created with the Client’s own resources, the scale and complexity of the project became apparent. That is why a decision was made to use the services of a partner specializing in SAP implementations to create a local team providing direct support to users.
Full speed ahead!
The main selection criterion was extensive experience. In the case of Hicron the mutual trust developed during other projects constituted an additional advantage. The combination of the commitment and communication efficiency of the people responsible for the implementation on the part of the Client with the knowledge and experience of Hicron consultants resulted in effective cooperation.
In the first quarter of 2022 rollouts in cooperation with Hicron were carried out in 5 factories, and this number increased to 7 by mid-year. The pace of work was also accelerated. The consulting team is working on 3 rollouts at a time instead of 2.
Thanks to the Time & Materials cooperation model, it is the Client who decides on the costs and the current workload. Constant contact with the persons responsible for the implementation on the part of the Client, required by this model, enables the use of highly flexible solutions and allows the Partner to maintain control over the direction of the project. We can quickly react to changes and easily implement new ideas, and the resources of ABAP programmers let us tailor our solutions.
The scale and complexity of the project made the on-the-job experience and subsequent challenges faced by Hicron consultants very valuable to them as well. The company-specific logistic and warehouse flows made it possible to understand the automotive industry even better, and the unique process of integrating the legacy system with SAP required the design and implementation of electronic data interchange (EDI) models, becoming a driver for further development.
